Hirono Urges Protection of Planned Parenthood Funding

US Senator Mazie K. Hirono visited Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian’s Islands’ new multi-use building in Honolulu on Friday, where she discussed the Affordable Care Act and its impacts on women’s health care and health care in Hawaiʻi. The new clinic is scheduled to open in June 2018.

US Senator Mazie Hirono standing in support of Planned Parenthood.

Senator Hirono said, “Unrelenting Republican attacks” on Planned Parenthood “threaten to turn back the clock on decades of progress” made on women’s health care. She said, “By providing access to affordable preventative health services, like cancer screenings, Planned Parenthood has served thousands of Hawaiʻi residents and families. I will continue to fight to protect women’s health and our right to control our bodies.”

During the meeting, the Senator also discussed the importance of fighting efforts to defund Planned Parenthood.

“In this political climate, we are incredibly grateful for the support of our patients, supporters, donors, and elected officials, like Senator Mazie Hirono in Hawaiʻi,” said Laurie Field, Hawaiʻi Public Affairs Manager at PPVNH. “People across the country need access to affordable, high-quality health care and Hawaiʻi recognizes the value Planned Parenthood brings to the state. Congressional Republican leadership is determined to roll back progress, but Hawaiʻi remains a leader in health care and is making long-term investments in the critical services we provide through the purchase of a new building for our new health center in downtown Honolulu.”

Senator Hirono has led efforts to continue federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which she said provides millions of Americans with access to contraceptive services, sexually transmitted infection and cancer screenings, well-woman visits, and other health services every year.

Earlier this year she also opposed efforts to exclude Planned Parenthood from Title X family planning services grants. Reducing federal funding for Planned Parenthood, she said, would threaten access to critical services for hundreds of thousands of low-income women around the country who rely on Planned Parenthood health centers.

Friday’s meeting is part of series of meetings the Senator is conducting with health care leaders and providers on strengthening the ACA and improving the health care system. Last week, she visited the Kalihi-Palma Health Center and met with state agencies to receive updates on health care in Hawaiʻi.